Machine for making belts.



'PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

RA, USINA. MACHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1907.

- 5BHEETS-SHEET 1.

HHHHHI N HHhHHUMLIII Ill 1 ll lxl INVENTOR Q WITNESSES- B Azormys,

' YKZIONRIS PETERS 60., WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. 884,544. PATENTED APR. 14, 1908. E. A. USINA. MACHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

' APPLICATION FILED nus. 1907.

fi SHEET8-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR; VgIjESSES:

PATENTED APR. 14:, 1908;

B. A. USINA. MAGHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

I APPLICATION FILED KAY 3, 1997.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

INVENTOR 1 WITNESSES:

B. A. USINA.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1907.

PATENTBD APR. 14, 1908.

5 sums-sum 4.

FIG. 7.

- 4 INVENTOR WITNESSES: ZLMW U! Mr om 0 9 1 4 l R P A D E T N E T A P A N I S U A R MACHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1907.

5 SHEETSSHEET 5,

INVENTOR v5 4' THE MOM: PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, n. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND A. USINA, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO NEW YORK LEATHER BELTING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR MAKING BELTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May a, 1907.

Patented. April 14, 1908.

Serial No. 371,706.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDMUND A. USINA, a citizen of the United States, residing in East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of 5 New Jersey, have invented certain new and whereby there may be readily and cheaply made composite leather belts formed of a M number of narrow stri s laid side by side across the width of the elt with their edges forming the face of the belt. For this purpose a block of hides is built up, preferably y cementing them one upon another in suflicient quantity to form a belt of the desired width, and the edge of this block is presented to a traveling cutter such as a reciprocating or band knife or saw in such a way as to cut from the edge of the block a belt of the char acter described. Instead of the hides referred to the block may be made up of sheets of various materials, and various articles of 5"'manufacture may be produced therefrom,

such, for exam le, as conveyer stra s of all kin s.

T e accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention.

belts and Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the feeding mechanism. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 of Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section approximately on the line 55 of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are more or less diagrammatical views in elevation and plan of another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of a third embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the block A is built up either circular or oblong, and either of the size of a single hide or of a part of a hide, or several hides, the successive layers being laid face to face upon one another and being preferably cemented to 'ether in a press beforehand so as to form a block which may be handled comparatively easily. The block is then in-.

serted between a pair of members constitutin a holder therefor, and these members are fe toward the knife at the same time that the block is rotated, thus producing a spiral feed.

The machines of Figs. 1 to 7 are designed to effect a continuous and regular longitudinal movement of the block toward the knife, and are adapted only for a circular spiral. In the machine of Fig. 8, however, provision is made for accompanying the rotation of the block by a reciprocating movement of the holder toward and from the knife, so that the successive convolutions of the spiral correspond in shape to the original contour of the b ock,oblong in the present case.

The feeding movement of the block may be effected either by mechanism acting directly on the block to push it against the knife as in Figs. 1 to 7, or by pullin the belt as fast as it is separated from the b ock, so that the block is thereby rotated and held against the knife.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 5, the holder for the block A consists of a pair of slides B carrying clamping ads 0 adjustable for various thicknesses of t e block A. The pads O are rotatable by means of pinions D on short screw-shafts E upon which the parts are screwed for longitudinal adjustment. The rotation of the pinions D is in such a direction as to clamp the pads more tightly against the block during the feeding operation. The bodily movement of the block toward the knife is effected by sliding each slide B in a suitable slot F in the carriage G, the lifting being effected by means of a threaded shaft H attached to the slide B and splined in an opening in a cross-bar J at the top of the carriage, so as to prevent its rotation, the portion above the cross-bar being threaded through a nut L which is rotated when the block is to be fed. The rotation of the beveled gear D is effected by means of a pinion M which is mounted on the shaft of a gear N, which is driven by a pinion O, the several parts D, M, N and O being mounted to move up and down with the slide B. For driving the gear-nut L and the pinion O, a vertical shaft P is provided passing through the crosshead, with the pinion Q engaging the gear L, and splined through the pinion O in the manner indicated in Fig. 4. The shaft P in turn is driven from the main cross-shaft R which is operated by means of a belt pulley S.

The carriage G with the various mechanisms described, excepting the main shaft R, is made removable from the frame of the machine so as to facilitate insertion of the block. The side frames of the machine (Fig. 1) are provided. with horizontal rails T T with sockets U. The upward extension B of the slide B rests upon the rail T, while the carriage G is provided at each side with a foot V adapted to rest on one of the rails T. When the extensions B and foot V rests inthe sockets U near the outer ends of the rails T T, the carriage is very accessible for the i introduction of the block A and the fastening of it between the pads C. It may then be lifted out of the sockets and slid along to the inner sockets, in which position the gear on the shaft P comes into engagement with that on the shaft R, and a slight rotation of the latter shaft brings the extension B up into position within guides WV upon the vertical side frame X of the frame. The movement of the driving shaft R being continued will bring the work into position against the traveling splitting knife Y, which by its continual move 1 ment cuts the belt from the block, the belt Z being carried over a guide roll and to a spindle a which is rotated by means of a ulley b with just sufficient force to keep tie belt taut. The pulley I) might if desired be rotated with such force as to pull the belt so hard as to rotate the block, springs or other feeding devices being provided for pressing the block bodily up to the knife. The cutter is preferably a splitting knife as shown rather than a saw, so as to make a clean cut and to pass easily through the leather without any waste in the form of saw dust, and leaving a perfectly smooth surface upon the belt.

The machine is designed for very heavy blocks, and for the purpose of minimizing the amount of work to be done in feeding it is preferable to counterbalance the weight.

M F or example, springs 0 may be used for this guide-pulleysf, one of which may be driven by means of a gear 9 meshing with a gear 72 which is driven by another gear j on the driving shaft R. The usual emery wheels for sharpening the belt, and the means for adjustin it, need not be illustrated, as they are fami iar to persons skilled in the art.

In order to maintain the block in its proper plane of rotation, one or more guides may be provided such as the rollers Z which are adjustably supported from the upper portions of the carriage G.

" F or greater convenience in handlin the block A, it may be arranged horizontal y, as

in Figs. 6 and 7, the belt being arranged in a vertical plane at its cutting point. The block A may be apertured at its middle, and clampedupon a holder 76, recelving a rotary 'movement from the worm-gear and a shaft 5,

the shaft 0 at the rear of the machine, and

carrying adjustable pads which clamp the block A at its center. The holder will be swung backward to clamp the block, after which the block may be raised, by an overhead crane or the like if very heavy, and swung over to a position where it bears upon an adjustable support, such, for example, as the roller 8 extending across between the side frames. The knife Y will then be adjusted inward or outward, and the roller 8 adjusted up or down by means of the adjusting screws 25 which lift the two end supports of the roller obliquely. After a short length of belt is cut it is passed between corrugated rollers it which pull with great force and at a uniform rate of speed so as to effect the subsequent rotation of the block. The bodily movement of the block toward the knife is effected by its weight. From the feed rollers u the belt is carried to a shaft a, which, as in the other machines illustrated, preferably rolls the belt in the opposite direction to its natural curvature so as to tend to straighten it and give its flexibility. Until a sufIicient length of belt Z is cut to extend to the feed rollers u, the block must be rotated by hand, and I prefer to use for this purpose a mechanism comprising a sprocket chain 1) extending over sprocket wheels on the clamping pads andon the shaft 1' at the rear of the machine, the latter s rocket wheels being driven by gears w and pinions 90 on a second shaft y running across the machine below the shaft 1', and operated by the hand-crank 2. o

For relieving the mechanism of the weight of the block, and especially to adapt the machine to work smoothly under the reciprocating action of an oblong block such as that illustrated in full lines, it is preferable to employ a spring or other counterbalance. A suitable spring is shown in the drawing. A stiff spring 2 is compressed between a shoulder on a screw-shaft 3 and upon a rod 4 entering the upper end of the screw-shaft. The upper end of the rod 4 is arranged to engage a projection 5 on the under side of a cross-bar 6, the ends of which are pivoted in the sides g of the holder. The screw-shaft 3 screws into a cross-beam 7, the ends of which are pivoted in the side frames 8 of the machine. The shoulder of the screw-shaft 3 upon which the spring 2 rests, is extended to form a hand-wheel 9. As the cutting proceeds and the block lowers itself, the spring 2 may be lowered by properly turning the hand-wheel 9. Or the hand-wheel may be turned to lower the spring at a more rapid rate, so that the uplifting force of the spring will be gradually reduced as the weight of the block is reduced. The screw-shaft 3 may also be rotated automatically at any desired rate, or it may be oscillated so as to rise and fall with a movement corresponding exactly to that of the center of the block. The a paratus of Fig. 8 may be used equally well fbr a circular block, as indicated in dotted lines.

Though I have described with great particularity of detail certain specific embodiments of my invention, yet it is not to be understood therefrom that the invention is restricted to the particular apparatus described. Various modifications thereof in detail and in the arrangement and combina tion of the parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention.

What I claim is 1. A belt making machine, including in combination a traveling splitting knife, and means for presenting to said knife the edge of a block built up of a number of hides laid face to face upon one another, to out therefrom a composite belt made up of a number of strips with their cut edges forming the face of the belt.

2. A belt making machine, including in combination a traveling splitting knife, and means for supporting a block built up of a number of hides laid face to face upon one another, said supporting means permitting rotation and bodily movement of the block toward the knife to cut therefrom a composite belt made up of a number of strips, and means for pulling the composite belt as it is out so as to move the block spirally against the knife.

3. A belt making machine, including in combination a cutter, and means for presenting to said cutter the edge of a block built up of a number of hides, and means for counterbalancing said block.

4. A belt making machine, including in combination a cutter, and means for presenting to said cutter the edge of a block built up of a number of hides, and springs adapted to counterbalance said block with a variable force as the cutting proceeds.

5. A belt making machine, including in combination a traveling splitting knife, a holder comprising a pair of members between which may be clamped a block built up of a number of hides, said holder being movabletoward said knife to present the edge of the block thereto, and guides Z for preventing lateral movement of the edges of the hides.

6. A belt making machine, including in combination a cutter, a holder comprising a pair of members between which may be clamped a block built up of a number of hides, said holder being movable by gravity toward said cutter to present the edge of the block thereto.

7. A belt making machine, including in combination a cutter, means for carrying a block built up of a number of hides, and presenting the edge of the block to said cutter, said carrying means being adapted to feed said block by gravity to the cutter, and means for pulling the belt'as it is cut so as to press the block against the edge of the cutter.

8. A belt making machine, including in combination a cutter, a support adjacent to said cutter, and means for pressing against said support by gravity the edge of a block built up of a number of hides, and feeding said block to said cutter to cut a belt whose thickness is determined by the distance be tween said support and said cutter.

9. A belt making machine, including in combination a band knife cutter Y, a support 8 for a block built up of a number of hides laid face to face upon one another, and means for pressing the edge of said block by gravity against said support, and means for forcing the block against the edge of said cutter so as to cut therefrom a belt made up of a number of strips with their cut edges forming the face of the belt.

10. A belt making machine, including in combination a traveling splitting knife, and means for feeding thereto in an oblong path the edge of a block built up of a number of hides laid face to face upon one another.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMUND A. USINA. l/Vitnesses DOMINGO A. USINA, FRED WHITE. 

